He has even been selected from the audience to dance in the interactive show.

But this year he's moving from fan to guy in charge as producer of the Central Florida holiday tradition.

"To me it's an honor," Ingraham says simply.

"Dickens by Candlelight," adapted from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" by Robin Olson, marks its 15th season this December.

It was Olson who conceived of telling Dickens' classic Victorian tale as theater-in-a-tearoom. It is, of course, a ghost story at heart so Olson put the emphasis on the storytelling. In her adaptation, three actors portray the various characters — but not from a stage.

No, like the best ghost stories told around the campfire, these storytellers are up close — maybe right behind you. The audience sits at tables while the actors circulate, but the experience is a bit more civilized than roughing it in the great outdoors: Tea and sweets are served to accompany the performance.

The sweets are homemade — and perfectly in keeping with the family-like atmosphere of the show. The actors bake cookies, their parents bake cookies, Ingraham says his parents and wife will be mixing dough and pitching in.

We're talking thousands of cookies, and Ingraham knows that's a key part of his producing responsibilities.

"He has to make sure the tea is hot and the cookies are fresh," jokes actress Morgan Russell, the senior performer in the trio. She has appeared in the show 10 of the 15 seasons.

Olson performed in the original cast, with Stacy Barton and Mark Mannette. Robin's husband, Terry Olson later joined the cast and also produced the show for several years.

This year, Russell is joined onstage by Monica Long Tamborello and John DiDonna. Only eight actors have performed in the show over the years; the current trio has performed together since 2009.

"Dickens by Candlelight" has had many homes around Central Florida: It started in Whispering Heaven Tearoom in College Park, but has also been staged in the Sands Theater Center in DeLand, CityArts Factory in downtown Orlando, the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park and the Dr. Phillips House south of downtown Orlando.

"It seems like about any space works," Ingraham says.

The show has also been booked by private individuals who host the production in their homes, sometimes with unintended results. Once, Russell recalls, during the middle of the performance, their hosts' doorbell rang.

So they answered the door.

"Luckily, it was during the party scene so we pretended it was another guest arriving," Russell says. "They were totally confused."

Mishaps have been minor — through Russell shudders as she recalls the unfortunate time a patron vomited on the Jacob Marley costume.

"Thankfully, with all those candles, we've never burned a place down," she jokes.

The play endures, Russell says, because Dickens' message remains timely.

"Those themes of social justice, class warfare, charity and benevolence are so current," she says. "What does it mean to have Christmas spirit? What does it mean to live your life well?"

Ingraham says patrons relate to the time-honored tradition of storytelling.

"It evokes when we were just small bands of humans, huddled around a fire and telling stories. It's how we've always passed lessons to future generations," he says. "We're doing the very same thing."